Well, I posted this in the sticky relating to the offer, but I'm not sure if it will be noticed there. Feel free to delete this if I should not post here too. I just wanted to enquire about the Windows 7 student offer. I've read through the FAQ's and Terms of Service, and still have a few questions: - Does the purchase allow me to install Windows 7 Professional 64-bit Edition on a computer currently running Vista Home Premium 32-bit? I understand that there is no "In-place" upgrade, but upon reading the TOS I noticed that the download was called a "Microsoft Windows 7 Professional Upgrade". I just want to make sure that this "upgrade" version will allow me to clean install windows 7 on my pc. FYI, the version of Vista I have installed currently came pre-installed with no disc, and I was not given an activation code; will this affect the scenario outlined above? - Will the version purchased through this offer be available to download again if, say, my computer died and the only solution was to reinstall windows from the disc? Would I have to buy the backup DVD for an additional £9? If so, would this disc come with Windows 7 64-bit and 32-bit like the retail version in case I decided to switch? Ok, that's all I can think of at the moment; thanks for reading and I hope to hear from you soon (so I can go and hopefully take advantage of this great offer!).

Hi, What happens is W7 64 bit Upgrade checks to see if you have an activated XP or Vista installed, because you have Vista 32bit. You will have to do a clean install. ( Back up all important data first. ) W7 will collect your files and put them into a folder Windows.old. Then it will wipe the Vista and format drive for W7.Now when you download the Student offer of W7. It will be a .ISO file which you burn to a DVD. Keep the .ISO file & Activation key in a folder together and copy them to a safe backup. If you need to reinstall you just upgrade from the DVD. You don't need Vista.Slan go foill, Paul

Hi, What happens is W7 64 bit Upgrade checks to see if you have an activated XP or Vista installed, because you have Vista 32bit. You will have to do a clean install. ( Back up all important data first. ) W7 will collect your files and put them into a folder Windows.old. Then it will wipe the Vista and format drive for W7. Now when you download the Student offer of W7. It will be a .ISO file which you burn to a DVD. Keep the .ISO file & Activation key in a folder together and copy them to a safe backup. If you need to reinstall you just upgrade from the DVD. You don't need Vista. Slan go foill, Paul Thanks, so would you recommend getting the backup DVD for an extra £9? Seems like that would be a waste :P EDIT: Also, what if I installed and activated 64-bit but then found crucial programs didn't work - could I switch for the 32-bit edition?

Hi, It might be worth getting the DVD, because the download is 2.5GB in size and could get corrupted during download. The offer is for one W7 per student. The 64bit version would be better as it can handle up to 128GB of Ram which furture proofs it. You can use Virtual PC for W7 and have a XPmode virtual machine which is 32bit. Slan go foill, Paul

Hi, It might be worth getting the DVD, because the download is 2.5GB in size and could get corrupted during download. The offer is for one W7 per student. The 64bit version would be better as it can handle up to 128GB of Ram which furture proofs it. You can use Virtual PC for W7 and have a XPmode virtual machine which is 32bit. Slan go foill, Paul Ok, sounds like good advice. Thanks for the help.

Hi, What happens is W7 64 bitUpgrade checks to see if you have an activated XP or Vista installed[...] If you need to reinstall you just upgrade fromthe DVD. You don't need Vista. Hi Paul thank you for (almost) answering the same qurestion I had as well. But how do these two sentences match together? Asked differently: How will Win Setup check my valid WinXP / WinVista license when I buy a new hard disk as the old one broke down? I'd have to do a completely fresh install and wouldn't want to install Windows Vista just to be able to update to Windows 7. Would that be the case? Please advise. Thank you!

Hi, So when you have everything working well and your programs installed. From within W7 you can make a backup image of W7 and save it to a backup harddisk. Then use the W7 DVD to put the image onto the new harddisk. Slan go foill, Paul

Hi, So when you have everything working well and your programs installed. From within W7 you can make a backup image of W7 and save it to a backup harddisk. Then use the W7 DVD to put the image onto the new harddisk. Slan go foill, Paul Hi Paul, can I also do a fresh install with the downloaded Win7 version? (without a hard disk image) Will Win7 Setup ask me for a WinXp or WinVista CD/DVD or license key during setup for Win7?

Hi, When you add the product key theprogram then knows it must proceed as anupgrade and check for XP or Vista installed and activated before proceeding with install. These are the new activation rules from Microsoft.Slan go foill, Paul